1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to gate assemblies used with hopper-type railroad cars and more particularly to assembly units which may be readily installed on the car and allows selective distribution of ballast in the car to a roadbed below.
2. Prior Art
Gate assemblies which allow the unloading of hopper-type railroad cars are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 609,816 discloses a car body prepared with a pair of chutes to provide for distribution of the car contents on each side of the car. A slidable gate covers an outlet opening formed in each side of the car bottom. By manipulation of a handle operatively connected to each gate, the gate may be drawn upward to uncover the opening. U.S. Pat. No. 1,019,875 discloses a similar gate assembly, except in this case the doors are wedge shaped and slide horizontally to cover and uncover the outlet openings in the car.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 998,325 and 998,326 disclose another form of gate assembly in which sliding doors are used to regulate car unloading. In this case the doors are positioned for a release of material directly beneath the car.
A still further type of gate assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,536,013 and 3,675,591. In this case the doors are large horizontal plates which slide horizontally to uncover an outlet in the car body.